Saturday, 29 March 2008

I have been away in Atlanta so I never got chance to do much Easter baking apart from these cookies! I had such a great time in America and got lots of fab baking bits and bobs, they have such an amazing selection over there! One of the grreat things I bought was a proper icing bag with lots of different shaped nozzles so I just need to get practicing now! I hope you all had a really lovely Easter weekend!

To ice the biscuits I used a piping bag fitted with nozzle number 1 and piped around the edge of the biscuit. To do this you will need quite thick icing so make sure you do not add too much water to your icing sugar. Leave it to dry for a few minutes.

Next spoon in some icing and spread it around the biscuit using a wooden stick ot toothpick.

It should look like this! Try and pop all the air bubbles that raise to the top.

And decorate! I used pink and yellow food colouring to make pretty easter biscuits in the shape of eggs! I also made an easter bunny, a flower and a butterfly! I added some sliver balls to create a bit of sparkle!

I took them around to my friends house and they loved them! Happy Easter everybody!

Monday, 10 March 2008

I can no longer find the recipe for these biscuits I made, I'm always putting things down and losing them again. Maybe it's in one of my cookbooks, mmm! Who knows! Anyway I thought I would post the pictures and show you how lovely they are! I'm really excited as we are FINALLY getting the internet installed in two weeks time, woo hoo! I'll be able to read your blogs all the more soon! Now I just need a laptop... mmm...

Here are some pictures of my baking from the other day, we had friends coming over for dinner so I made lots of yummy treats including these cinnamon balls. They tasted just like little marizpan balls as they were made mainly from egg whites and ground almonds! They were really nice to eat but they only last a few days in an airtight container before going hard! I can't believe how close it is to easter now, I can't wait to start eating chocolate again and bake some lovely easter cakes!

Saturday, 8 March 2008

I made these butterfly cakes by following the recipe in Nigella Express. They are lovely and moist and have a really lovely soft sponge! I was reading Delia's cheat book and I can't believe she has baked a cake containing potato flakes, it sounds totally crazy to me, I can just hear Peter Kay now 'Potato flakes in a cake!' Well, i never! I'm not sure I will ever get around to making cakes with potato flakes or frozen mash or whatever it was but as the saying goes 'Try anything once' so we will see!

I love butterfly cakes, I remember seeing them on cake stalls as a child and I used to think they were so cute! I used my new electric whick to beat together the butter and caster sugar and it was amazing, not only was it really quick and pain free it made the sponnge so light and fluffy, I think they are the best I have made so far! My only tip is to make sure you take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before to make sure it is soft!

Preheat the oven to 180c and place 12 paper cases in the cake tray so that it's all prepared!

Using an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl. The mixture should look light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat again. Add the second egg with a tablespoon of flour and beat again. Using a metal spoon fold in the flour, the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Finally add the vanilla and I always add one tablespoon of warm water to the mixer as it makes the cakes even more yummy!

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and then remove them and leave them to cool out of the tray. Using a sharp knife or spoon, dig out a little mound of cake and spoon in a good helping of buttercream. Slice the extra bit of cake into two and arrange on the buttercream so that they look like wings. I added yellow colouring to my buttercream to make it yellow but you can choose whatever coulour you prefer!

Thursday, 6 March 2008

I haven't eaten rock cakes in a long time, probably since school. I think I may have even made them in cooking class at school but I can't remember exactly! My very good friend Barbara gave this recipe to my sister-in-law who passed it on to me and I finally got around to making them. My own sisters came to visit the bright city lights of London last weekend and we had a great time munching through these when they arrived! I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did! Thanks Barbara!

To make these you will need the following from your kitchen cupboard:8oz flour2 level tsp's baking powder3-4oz butter3-4oz sugar3-4oz currants, raisins and sultanas1 egg2 tablespoons of milk (i used semi skimmed)1/2 tsp mixed spice

Preheat the oven to 200c/gas mark 6 and grease a baking tray.

Sieve together the flour, salt, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the sugar and stir. Using your finger tips only lightly rub in the butter. When it looks all crumbly mix in the raisins, sultanas and currants. Mix in the beaten egg and milk and then arrange in rough heaps on a well greased baking sheet. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 15-17 minutes. It's that simple!

Saturday, 1 March 2008

These biscuits are lovely and really easy to make. They are not too sweet either and the oats give them a great texture and they really do melt in your mouth! I love the added cherry on top, the perfect finish to a perfect biscuit!

The recipe makes about 20 biscuits and I followed it from a book called 'cookies' that I found in a charity shop!

You will need the following ingrediants:40g/1.5oz butter (plus a little extra for greasing)65g/2.5oz lard75g/3oz caster sugar1/2 beaten egga few drops of vanilla essence150g/5oz self raising flourrolled oats for coatingglace cherries about 10

Preheat the oven 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Grease two or three baking trays with butter or you can use margarine if you wish. Using a large mixing bowl cream the butter, lard and sugar together and then gradually beat in the egg and vanilla essence.

Slowly sift in the self raising flour and roll the mixture into small bowls using the palms of your hands. Sprinkle the oats onto a board and roll the balls in them so they are evenly coated and then place them on the baking tray, spaced apart and place half or a quarter of the chopped cherry on top. They require about 15-20 minutes to bake. You will be able to tell when they are cooked as the kitchen will be filled with a gorgeous biscuit aroma. Allow them to cool and then serve to all your family and friends! Easy!

Welcome to Mrs B's Baking-the baking blog! I love baking cupcakes, biscuits, muffins and all kinds of delicious puddings and cakes. One day I dream of opening my own little cake shop somewhere in the countryside or creating and designing wedding cakes! Until then let me share with you all the things I love to bake. Thanks for visiting me, come and say hi again soon, lots of cupcake love x